Posted on 03 April 2009

Q: With this being your first English language film you seem to redefine the laws of physics. It seems to happen a lot in this film?

TB: Yes. Physics is part of our imagination. The world is as it is because we think about it and then everything becomes possible, because if you can imagine things, it will happen.

Q: So do you spent a lot of time in pre-production, because it seems like you have these very imaginative shots and your visual style is very different from anybody else’s?

TB: Everybody’s style is different. Everybody is unique. That’s what I really believe. Sometimes we don’t remember this. Sometimes we’re trying to copy or to follow the rules, but if you will listen to yourself, then you will be unique. It takes time, years, but it is the most interesting part of the process. For me, what is interesting is dreaming. There are no obligations or responsibilities. Then it gets difficult, the five months of shooting, but it’s a great process and even greater when you are editing and finishing things. I like the beginning and the end.Read the full story

Posted on 06 March 2009

Director Jennifer Lynch talks about Surveillance, the cast of characters, actors, and how the film came about. Available on DVD 6th March 2009.

A taught thriller in the tradition of the great Akira Kurosawa’s Rashômon, Jennifer Lynch’s Surveillance marks a long awaited return to the big screen for this definitive, and often surprising, filmmaker. Borrowing a page from the Japanese master, Lynch has crafted a stunningly detailed story told from the perspectives of three witnesses. In pure Lynch fashion, however, nothing is as it seems—even at the final moment.

“At its core,” explains Lynch about her film and its genesis, “I’m fascinated by the idea of what it is that an individual sees: primarily what it is to have your life and to see something specifically through your eyes. It’s a completely different experience than anyone else has.

“So, in this story, we have a road between point A and point B. Three different groups find themselves on that road. Certain things happen to all of them. All are forced into one ultimately unfortunate situation where they are obligated to retell what happened.

“Each is a liar and each holds a truth,” continues Lynch. “But the shame that each feels and the reason each one is lying is at the heart of their character. So as we go back in time we realize they are lying, but at the same time we get to know them more deeply.”

The three main groups of characters couldn’t be more disparate. Officers Jack Bennett and Jim Conrad are the fanatic cops who Lynch once described as the kind of men who might watch COPS while drinking a beer and stroking their guns. These officers always wanted to be heroes, but have made certain dark decisions in their lives. Dark decisions that have turned into dark secrets meant to be hidden.Read the full story

A: He is very easy to work with. At first he takes some getting used to, because he is very “hands on,” but he always has such a sweet disposition. Somebody who was familiar with Russian directors asked me if he cursed a lot; but the truth is that he doesn’t –I don’t work with directors who curse a lot.

Q: And with Wanted he proves to be very creative…

A: Oh yes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the proof of his creativity is up on the screen.

Posted on 15 September 2008

Angelina Jolie Talks About Wanted

Angelina Jolie makes a sensational return to the action thriller genre in Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted. Jolie plays Fox, a heavily tattooed, deadly assassin who has to train a new recruit to the shadowy organisation known as The Fraternity.

Jolie joins a stellar cast including James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Thomas Kretschmann the ground-breaking screen version based on Mark Millar’s comic books.

Wes Gibson (McAvoy) hates his life – with good reason. He’s working as a lowly accountant in a dead end job and his best friend is sleeping with his girlfriend. And what’s worse, he doesn’t care. He has no money and no prospects and he’s suffering panic attacks when his bully of a boss shouts at him. And then it all changes.

Wes is going about his mundane life when Fox (Jolie) literally bursts on to the scene with guns blazing to inform him that the father he never knew has just been killed – and the murderer is now out to target him.

Reluctantly, Wes is dragged into the inner sanctum of The Fraternity, led by the enigmatic Sloan (Freeman) an organisation that targets criminals and assassinates them for the greater good. He learns that his father was the deadliest of them all and that it’s now time for him to follow in his massive footsteps. But as Wes turns from deadbeat into deadly killer he begins to realise that the organisation might not be exactly as noble as it claims to be.

The daughter of French actress Marcheline Betrand and Oscar winning actor Jon Voight, Jolie, 33, first started acting as a child and later studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York and at New York University.

She won international recognition in the mid 1990s with films including Hackers and Foxfire. She earned both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her role in the made-for-TV movie George Wallace and again for her remarkable performance as drug addicted model in Gia. In 1999 she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Girl, Interrupted.

Throughout her career, Jolie has enjoyed switching genres from action – playing the popular computer game heroine in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and it’s sequel Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, an assassin in Mr and Mrs Smith and animation roles in Shark Tale and Kung Fu Panda – to more serious drama including Beyond Borders and, more recently, the highly acclaimed A Mighty Heart in which she played the widow of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl. Later this year she will be seen starring in the Clint Eastwood directed period thriller, Changeling.

Her work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission For Refugees started after first visiting Cambodia where she partly filmed the first Tomb Raider. Since then, she has travelled to more than 30 countries, including many dangerous regions, highlighting the plight of refugees. She has also funded several humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa.

Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt have four children – Maddox, 7, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and two year old Shiloh.

Q: There’s a key scene in Wanted where the killer is chasing you and James’ character and you are hanging out of a car firing back at him. It looks incredible and frankly, highly dangerous. What was that like to film?Read the full story

Posted on 10 September 2007

Interview With Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli In Heroes)

Power: Flying

How do you feel about Nathan? There seems to be some underlying ambiguity about his character?

It’s close to playing a Richard III-type character but in a modern dimension. All I need is a physical kind of abnormality to befall me, like hump or a limp then I would have a really Shakespearian experience!

I don’t think he is necessarily concerned whether he is good or bad. I do think that there is a dark side that has to be dealt with, but the people who think they are good will probably turn out the other way on this show. It wouldn’t do me any good to speculate as to how I’m going to end up. I think there is both good and bad in this character which is interesting to play. I am as much a fan who is along for the ride as the public are with this character and where he ultimately is going to go.

Would you agree that your character is defined more by his relationships than his superhero power?

Yes, I find these relationship dynamics are more interesting to play than the perceived super power, they have written that very well. The relationships that I share with my mum, with Peter (Milo Ventimiglia), with my wife and with Niki (Ali Larter), all those elements are angling together toward defining who Nathan Petrelli is to himself and his potential constituency.

Ultimately, when you’re in the game of politics and you’re a man like Nathan Petrelli, there is only one seat that you want and that’s behind a desk in the Oval Office.

As we take this journey, we may find ourselves in the White House and that should make these relationships even more interesting.